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Surprised nobody has mentioned the Brothers Karamazov. It goes through, and attempts to answer the world's greatest questions about god, love, death, man, and country, all while telling a damn fine murder mystery.

my favorite book of all time. My favorite fictional character of all time is Augustus Mccrae. I normally am not one to laugh at a book or feel sad when there is a sad part but this book really had me feeling a range of emotions. Great author and best book I have ever read.

Can you guys actually explain WHY you like these books so much so this thread becomes more than just a book popularity contest? Maybe this way other readers may pick the books up, and it won't just be a list of novel titles, like these threads usually are.

I agree with you, and I have already submitted my answer, without any explanation as to why I love it, but with a link to Amazon.

I find it very hard to explain why I love the book (Imagica) as it is such a complex and wonderful creation that I couldn't possibly give it a review that would do it any justice.

I've read it three times now (one of those times I read it as a bedtime story to my husband, one or two chapters a night) and I fully intend to read it again, because it is almost like going back to meet much-loved friends, and a beautiful universe.

Not just one book, but a series. The Discworld series by Sir Terry Pratchett. I began with Wyrd Sisters, and it had me hooked right away.

It's fantasy mixed with wit and brilliance. The characters are so creative and the Discworld has given me so many things the real world has not. It made growing up much easier. It was my safe place. I always recommend Pratchett.

Smart, thoughtful, absurd, funny, compassionate, wide ranging with memorable characters, interesting and unique world-building, some EXCELLENT writing, the kind of books that sneak humanity and left-of-centre ideas at you without you even realising it until, weeks later, you find yourself philosophising about how a magical gollum may be the wisest atheist in literature...

The Discworld books were the first books I ever read. My father owned the entire series and faithfully bought each new release. I would definitely recommend Discworld. Vimes might just be the most badass character ever written in fantasy.

It's always refreshing to see someone else adores this book - it's also my all-time favorite. It gave me an entirely different views on a variety of things that affect me each and every day. Beautifully written, incredible message, and great plot. Definitely Steinbeck's magnum opus.

"There's more beauty in the truth, even if it is a dreadful beauty. The storytellers at the city gate twist life so that it looks sweet to the lazy and the stupid and the weak, and this only strengthens their infirmities and teaches nothing, cures nothing, nor does it let the heart soar."

For some reason these words have stuck with me since I first read East of Eden as a teenager. One of my favorites.

I'm going with "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson. It's entertaining and it's very informative, and explains concepts ranging from Quantum Mechanics to botany but in a way that's easy to understand and never forgets the human factor behind the people that discover these things.

I've read pretty much everything he's written and there's really no bad books. He has the wonderful quality of being able to make any subject immensely interesting. Pick anything from his works and you're pretty much guaranteed a great read.

I'd also highly recommend "At Home" which is his sort of spiritual successor to "A Short History of Nearly Everything", except focused on the home and how everything about it came to be.

"The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
Short stories about a troop of US soldiers in the Vietnam War. I love the way he humanizes the characters so well and the very nonchalant almost beautiful way in which he describes the atrocities of war. Surreal kind of style that really makes you think about what you're reading. My favorite from the book is "How to Tell a True War Story".

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller When I first read it, I realized just how powerful satire is as a medium, something that I had always dismissed in the past as being too blunt. Even when I first read it, I thought the pacing and writing in the beginning was hard to get through (another thing that I dismissed as bad writing) but have come to realize the necessity of it. I love how the
characters are relatively the same throughout the book (except for a few) and instead of the characters developing, the story does. By the end of the book you're left with a completely different view of all of the characters in a manner that completes the overall satire contained in the novel. I can hardly put it into words how just the writing and story has been very eye-opening for me. I'm sure there are people a lot smarter than me who could explain.

When I first started reading Catch 22 I hated it. About halfway through a light bulb went on in my head and I got it. I fell in love with the story, and I felt like I was in on some big secret. It really is an amazing piece of writing.

I found the sequel Closing Time to be pretty disappointing, but it's hard to say how much of that is due to having such high expectations that they couldn't possibly be fulfilled. I think it's more indicative of Heller's usual standard, which just isn't nearly as good as Catch-22.

BUT I was glad I'd read it, in the end. Has some moments and phrasing in it that I really enjoyed, just not nearly as consistently as its predecessor. I thought another of his books Good As Gold was worth reading, too, and Something Happened is odd enough to be memorable. So, I guess, worth chucking the sequel on your to-read pile, and if you like it then check out his other work. But don't get your hopes up.

Somewhat related: Apparently Heller was once criticised by another author who told him, "You've never written anything as good as Catch-22." And Heller replied, "Who has?"

Most of Vonnegut's books could be on someone's list of favorites. When confronted with the ugliness of mankind, there are the naive, the cynically depressed, and then the rare few that can acknowledge the true enormity of our awfulness and still find hope.

I just finished this one a few weeks ago. The way it unraveled caught me so off guard but once I thought back, it made total sense. It stayed with me because i've never been so distant to the world as the main character. But the real genius, imo, is in how easy it was to be inside his head no matter your natural way of thinking.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. I recently got a quote from that book tattooed on my arm. Whenever people ask me what the tattoo is from, or why Lolita is my favorite book (given its reputation), I generally explain it to them like this:

The first thing I fell in love with about Lolita was the prose. I found myself audibly gasping at how beautifully some of the sentences are written; Nabokov's language is full of puns and cheeky humor, and poignance describing Humbert’s time before, during and after Lolita.

Then, the story itself is both overwhelmingly comic and tragic. I always tell people it is a love story, not a sex story, and that’s exactly what makes it so difficult to explain: it is a love story, but it’s twisted, dark and sinister. It’s not romantic; it’s an obsessive lust disguised as love, the only thing a “pentapod monster” like Humbert knows. The psychology, thought process and emotions behind both Humbert and Dolly are fascinating.

Nabokov is just genius. Never has so repulsive a narrator been so attractive and thoroughly disarmingly charming. Nabokov is incredibly good at the horrible person/situation turned on its head to be looked at from an entirely different perspective thing. Also, the language of the man is incredible. So much gorgeous writing. Have you read Ada?

Sabriel by Garth Nix, though all of the Abhorsen books are amazing. The books are a good mix of magic, adventure, and horror with just a touch of romance. The way Garth Nix writes allows me to see his stories as if I'm actually watching the events unfold and not just merely reading them. I really can't do the book justice describing it here, so I'll just stop rambling. Sabriel has been my favorite book since I first read it 8 years ago, and I can't remember how many times I've re-read it since then.

It's a story about an English sailor that gets lost at sea and ends up in Japan. After getting a good portion of his crew boiled to death on a caudron by a sadistic feudal lord, he starts learning their customs and traditions. It's funny, sad, clever and exciting, and contemplative, and just a dozen kinds of awesome. It's also a huge book, but I promise you, when you get a quarter of the way through, you'll start getting sad that it'll eventually end.

But the end is just about the best part of the book. When you finish it, I promise, you will have tears streaming from your eyes and love for the characters you're leaving behind.

Also in this vein, The Physician, by Noah Gordon. It's about a kid who's adopted by a barber-surgeon in olden times after his parents die. After the barber dies, he travels the world trying to find better ways to cure the sick. His search leads him to Persia, where people can actually open corpses and look inside (and it's not an awful sin), and thus where there is actual medicine being created and taught. The book has a minor supernatural element in that the protagonist can sense when someone is going to die by touching them, but it's really less important than you'd think. This book is shockingly well written. It has a sense of pace like very few books I've ever read (and I've read one to two every week for many years)

The World According to Garp. It was probably the "first" grown up book I read as a freshman in high school. I had no idea how much more could go into a book than romance and teen angst. Made me want to read everything by Irving, and then everything ever written.

For me, it's definitely Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. I was given this book by my sister when I was in 3rd grade to read (I loved reading a lot even back then). She had just gone into 7th grade and still had it from when she had read it in 6th. At the time, it was probably a few years old already, and at 24 I still have it today.

I've read this book so many times the pages are yellowed and bent. Some have fallen out and are loose, and the front cover is torn and also loose off. This book always resonated with me so much, not only because it's a heart-wrenching tale of the love between a boy and his dogs, but also because it's a testament to perseverance, dedication, and old time familial values. I re-read this at least once a year, and I know it will never get old for me. I absolutely cry every single time I get to the end of the book, and I don't think that will ever change. Of all the books I've ever read or will read someday, I know that nothing will ever come close to topping it for me.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman. It made me think so much about the nature of belief and religion, while also being a great story. It's such an American story that it could really only be written by someone from another country.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, but if forced to pick one, The Return of the King. When I first read them, I was going through a lot of very rough personal struggles, and these were the thing keeping me going - my light in dark places :) They still do. I pick them up whenever I've had a bad day even - just to be in Middle Earth and hang out with the characters I love is very ... therapeutic? I dunno ... its sort of like home ...

The characters also taught me a lot that has been very useful to me, and I'd name them as a big shaper of my own character...

The Silmarillion. Yeah, it's not the easiest read, but it rewards your effort. I once saw someone who didnt like it on reddit compare it to a swimming pool full of chocolate pudding -- their argument being that it's dense and sweet, but the consistency is too thick to go for a swim in. All I can say to that is -- who the fuck wouldnt want a swimming pool full of pudding? If you are lucky enough to find one, you learn to swim in it.

I just love it, I read a lot and don't usually have solid all time favorites, but when I read Dracula a few years ago, it was instantly my all time favorite. It's just so beautifully written and quotable. The imagery is fantastic and brilliant, the pov and style is fascinating and it totally sucks you in. It's not so much scary though, as people think, not in the traditional sense. However, it's scary in an unsettling, dark way. I often describe it to people as beautifully scary. I also really like e characters, they are complex and developed, I especially appreciate Stoker's female characters and how they rival their male counterparts. It's all the fun, suspense, edge, and even sex appeal of commercial literature with the genius, quality, complexity and intrigue of great classic literature.

Probably The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Because it has "Don't Panic!" on the cover in big friendly letters, of course. Also because it's hilarious, incredibly re-readable, and always fun while not being stupid either. That's a good go-to book for whenever I want to read but also want something familiar. A book I was really blown away by was The Death of Artemio Cruz, by Carlos Fuentes. It's a challenging book until you get familiar with the perspective (at least it was challenging for me reading it as a junior in high school), but it's so satisfying and emotional and well-written.

Spot on with The Hitchhiker's Guide to tje Galaxy. It takes a great author like Adams to write something so strange and outworldy while teaching us about humanity and poking fun at the same time. One of the few book suites that had me laughing to tears.

I've always loved arthur and his knights and his wizard and Reading "the once and future king" was like having my childhood friend/hero sit me down personally (and i think the personally part was important. I found the book, no one told me to read it) and he says "now that you're old enough, I need to tell you about life, my life, but life in general. I'm sorry, this may be uncomfortable, but as you shall see, life is frequently uncomfortable. But it has good parts too, and all of it is important".

I read that book over and over again. It's really like coming back to a friend. Parts of it are funny and fun. Parts of are absolutely heartbreaking. This book made me come to terms with loss and death.

To Kill A Mockingbird. It's a book of pure perfection, even though it was her only published book. It shows the behavior of humans at its finest, but also at its lowest. It paints a vivid picture of the dreary southern town, Macomb, and all the people within it. Works like this are the reason the words perfection, beauty, and elegance exist.

My favorite part of this book is the way she depicts the antagonists. I have such a weakness for a well written, complex, "villain" (for lack of a better word). The villain that you feel for is not found often, but when an author can do this well, they gain my respect. To Kill a Mockingbird does this well.

On the Road by Jack Kerouac. It was such a different outlook on life from what I was used to seeing. The whole "beat" lifestyle that Kerouac writes about, although confusing at times, is one of the most down-to-earth and free way to live. It inspired me to cherish friends, moments, and the time I have on this earth.

The Little Prince is so amazing, and I always sound like a lunatic when I try to explain it to my friends. "It's a picture book kinda but more for adults, but it makes me cry, and the fox, man! No, no, it's like...he tames it...and the wheat and...it's so good! Just take my word for it!"

I had tried to read that book many times on my nook, but it never failed that life would get in the way and I'd have to start over. It also didn't help that the names are similar. I finally got around to buying a hard copy, for some reason it is much easier to read the hard copy. Great read.

For over a decade I told people George R. R. Martin was my favorite author. Game of Thrones pissed me off so badly I threw the book across the room. Then i was hooked. The fantasy genre was so predictable until Martin snapped it in two over his knee.

Oh my gosh, what a great book! I was camping and brought this book with me. I actually ended up hanging out in the campground restrooms reading it all night because the lighting was good and I could not put the book down. Sometime a Great Notion is fantastic too!

Don't get mad at me, but I really feel like I didn't get American Gods. I don't want to chalk it up to just not liking it, I just feel like I missed something. Please explain what you enjoy about it in a pm or with a spoiler tag or something. I was pretty disappointed because I should have liked that book a lot more than I actually did.

I will never read it again. It affected me so much when I first read it. After the ending, I just sat there in my room, staring at the wall, and thinking whether something like this could be possible in our world.

I always find it difficult to describe why I love this book, but will never read it again. It was that powerful for me.

This was required reading for my AP English class in high school and honestly the biggest piece of literature that has ever affected me. When they get discovered, after they repeat what the two of them said out loud, my heart dropped. It was the first time I remember being afraid while reading. It also sparked my love for dystopian lit.

I hate the fact that this book has become high school reading. When I read it at that age, I hated Winston Smith for being weak and I hated the book for being lousy science fiction and a complete downer.

It's the fate of many good books to become High School reading. The problem is that people forget what made them remarkable in the first place when the lesson is required to be learned as part of the curriculum. The teacher will explain why it's an amazing book but you're not necessarily going to discover that on your own.

1984 gets slammed by some who consider it to be a beaten to death critique of statism, or perhaps they judge it for being assigned reading in many high schools and thus is kid's fare. I disagree. There is a profound message about what it means to think freely, the limits of the human mind, and the nature of man generally (especially as regards breaking a person's spirit).

I just read it, and it left me speechless. This book truly shows the nature of society today. Humanity has become a close minded,careless,arrogant race, and I see why. With all the technology today, we often forget how to react with each other, therefore we only care about ourselves. It also shows how judgemental one could be. The caste system relates to the races, who constantly argue and fight one another. You cannot be accepted into society today unless you hate another society, and it disgusts me. If you take a peek at the darker side of the world, you will find more disgust and hatred than the light,even though the light is just a camouflage for the dark. If the world does end,it won't be from natural disaster, it will end from human arrogance. This book showed this,and did it perfectly, this book will make you look at society and look at its glorified ignorance.

It's a shame that she committed suicide a month after the novel was published because she had such a great way with words. She wrote in a way that's really easy to understand, but she still finds amazing ways to describe how she feels. One quote that will always stay with me (because I was a late bloomer like she was) is when she says, in regard to losing your virginity, "I thought that a spectacular change would come over me the day I crossed the boundary line." The story really resonates with me on a personal level because I know exactly how she feels when she's lonely, depressed, or suicidal. She also examines issues that are still relevant today like double standards on sexuality and a woman's (in)ability to choose.

I remember being really struck my how tangible the "insanity" was in the book. That was the first time I read a book where the author managed to make me feel what they character was feel. That oppressive, inescapable depression was just incredible and the way that it just...lifted was just as tangible.
Toni Morrison did the same thing for me with Beloved.

There’s a quote somewhere, I think it may actually be in the book, that says the most epic story that can be told is one that explores the depths of one man’s psyche. More than anything else I’ve ever read, this is about the internal conflicts and struggles of man, and on a grand scale.

Some books have copious background information to paint you a picture of a world. This actually has background information for the background information, so that a detailed, 50 page description and essay about the Battle of Waterloo, though barely relevant to the ‘main plot’, still does its job of pulling you into another era. In fact, it has been said that Les Miserables is actually about 19th century France, rather than just its primary plot. Indeed, the plot is actually a pretty obvious way for Victor Hugo to rant about various social injustices that were prevalent at the time.

It is beautiful prose following four of the coolest, most unique and badass characters I've ever encountered in a book. Abbey's love for the American Southwest truly brings out the setting and allows you to not only see these gorgeous places, but also forces you to care about them the way Abbey and his characters do. It is exciting and suspenseful, and at the same time offers great commentary on industrialization and the destruction of the natural world.

I've read it three times in about seven years. It is my go to answer for this question. I highly recommend it, along with his other works (The Fool's Progress is a favorite as well).

I have this odd superstition where I think books tend to find you when you are ready to read them. This novel found me right after I had traveled to Prague and it really hit me hard. Reading even one chapter delighted me with so many great revelations about people, life, and love. I really can't explain it but it was intensely profound and nostalgic for me. Highly recommend reading it... when it finds you.

It's kind of amazing how ahead of it's time this novel really was. It really has a little bit of everything--lyricism, historical digression, chapters upon chapters of asides about whaling minutiae, as well as being an adventure yarn. Aspects of this novel remain as fresh as contemporary fiction. A rewarding read.

Anne of Green Gables. I first read this when I was very young - maybe fifth grade? And I have re-read it many times as a teenager and adult. Reading it is like coming home, to a place that is familiar, warm, and always welcoming.

It draws the universal pattern of what humanity is and how it evolves - in it's blacks and whites, sublimity and injustice, drama and candour, all within a confined, isolated world - and finally how small and childish our torments and adversities look when put into a greater perspective.

It's definitely an excellent watch if you're a fan of the book. I found it strange though that that anime, where the count is like a "space vampire", was more accurate to the original plotline of the book than the actual movies.

This book really entertained me. I love Dumas' writing style.
The book is about love, revenge, noblemen and intrigues. Furthermore it plays over a long period of time, which I also enjoy in books. There wasn't any scene, which did not fascinate me.
Even when I read now and get a little bit bored, I immediately think about "The Count of Monte Christo".

The book more or less invented the date movie. It's true that there were comedies before P&P. It's true that there were romances. And you might call some earlier works romantic comedies ... maybe. But in P&P, Austen basically laid out the formula for the following 200 years of romantic comedies, and what has become the date movie. Her book has all the awkward situations, all the satire, all the ridiculous characters that we expect in a romantic comedy. The main characters are relatable and imperfect.

It's the perfect book.

I can't believe there have been 500 comments in this thread, and I am the first to name P&P.

I don't know if I'd call it my favorite, but Lamb by Christopher Moore is constantly pretty high on my list.

That was my first Moore book and, having grown up in a very religious home, the way it mixed irreverence with a sense of respect for the core beliefs a lot of people still hold very dear was very cool. Following Biff and Jesus through a philosophical journey through the east (which a lot of scholars think actually happened) was great, and the idea that Jesus had to find peace to be effective really resonated with me.

A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess. I haven't read it again since my first time so I need to see if it still stands. I loved it. The language used in the book is really cool and it makes you learn it. Also has a fascinating story of a criminal being reformed (the book's ending makes it 100x better than the movie).

I gave up the very first time I tried to read it because of the bizarre language. It's funny how it does start making sense though. I can't say I loved it because of all the horrorshow ultra-violence... but I did appreciate its greater question of whether it's better to be a monster by nature or a safe citizen through deranged and controlled manipulation.

I'm frankly surprised to see this here for some reason. I hear the same/similar stuff so often on reddit books. A teacher gave me a copy in high school, and it stuck with me. You, Ghostanus, have impeccable taste. Thanks for reminding me not just of a book, but something someone did to reach out.

No, in fact reading too many of the books in the series might make you hate it a little. The first 4 are really the only ones worth reading (in my opinion). Dune is the best one, if you didn't love it, reading three more books isn't going to make you love it. For what it's worth, I think it's probably the best sci-fi novel ever written (I haven't read all of them though), and in my top 5 favorite books.

Top spot: Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett. It's a funny, deep, emotional, and inspirational book about a group of young women who find themselves going to war in a country where girls have no independence, rights, or much value in the eyes of their religion and society. It is, I feel, the female compatriot of classics like Lord of the Flies or (more relative) All Quiet on the Western Front. I find it uplifting as it breaks down ideas about women and strength, both physical and mental as well as emotional. History is full of tough women, but the literature doesn't often have something like this.

While not my favorite book of all time anymore, in as much as I know longer can really have a favorite book, One Hundred Years of Solitude. For one this book fostered in me a confidence in interpretation when I was struggling with literature as a worthwhile pursuit. Secondly it has multiple characters I couldn't help but sympathize with and empathize with the intentions in their flaws. Third for the narrative scope. Fourth for the last fucking 50 pages that brings all the endeavors of reading it back full circle and transforms the entire book into an allegory on production(of art) and the transience of everything/fullness of that which is overlooked and subverted. It taught me to find in the shadows the details of the form.

I guess if I had to pick, I'd end up with two. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman would be one, because its creates such a compelling world that could almost exist within our own world. And no one has ever made villainous assassins quite as fun to read as Gaiman has.

I'd also have to say the young adult novel So You Want to Be A Wizard by Diane Duane. I'm not really sure why this particular book has stuck with me all these years, but it is just such a comforting book for me. I love the characters, and the idea that a love of reading is closely associated with magic. It's a book that has traveled with me everywhere for over a decade now. I still pull it off my bookshelf if I've had a particularly bad day, it never fails to make me feel at home and welcomed.

I read it in highschool for the first time and just really fell in love with it. I think just seeing how, at their core, when stripped of everything they hold dear to themselves - seeing how this society interacted with itself was just enthralling for me to read.

Beyond that, I really love all the characters, and it's just an absolutely fantastic read, parallels or no parallels (I prefer to take it just as the story, though I do not discount the merit or the genius of what Camus successfully accomplished with paralleling the book to the war).

Irvine Welsh is amazing. I love his style, his use of Scottish vernacular gets you reading the entire book in a thick Scots accent. The book has a grim, dark and misanthropic tone, without romanticizing the serious underlying themes of drug use and abuse too much, like the movie did.

Anyone who hasn't read it before should definitely look into it, along with Skagboys, Porno and The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs.

Salem's Lot was my favorite. One I finished it I wanted to read again. It had a great story, great characters, and realistic actions. I think this is one of King's underrated works. Finished it in three days too.

I have a degree in English Lit, and I've read most of the classics and canon novels. And I have to say, Ender's Game is still my favorite book. It just rocks: kids training as soldiers in space is somehow a very thrilling concept. And Ender is such a well developed character.

I first picked it up because my roommate prefaced it as follows: "It's like Harry Potter, except in space, and instead of taking Malfoy's shit for seven books, he kills him in the first chapter." Classic.

I'm on page 790 right now and I can't put it down (except occasionally to browse reddit, and the bruins are playing...) but it's so good. I can't help but wish that DFW were still around to answer questions and talk and just generally be awesome.

It was the only book I read as a kid that really appealed to my imagination. I had read Narnia, the Hobbit, and so on, and they were all good books, but they all felt limited. While I was reading The Phantom Toolbooth I felt like literally anything could happen. And the book somehow manages to get that feeling without being cheap/arbitrary with its plot. I think it should be required reading in every elementary school.

I hope you won't mind if I pick a few. I figure if someone is doing what I'm doing and going through and trying to find new material not picking just one wouldn't hurt.

(In no particular order)

1.Lillith's Brood by Octavia Butler

Sci fi enough to be a self contained plot that is interesting. But if you want it too, it's a beautiful vehicle in which to discuss really interesting topics like the nature of consent, gender identity, and the human condition.

2.Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead- Tom Stoppard

Hopefully you won't mind a play. Really it's just absurdism and modern existentialism at it's best. A play on Shakespeare's Hamlet in which two menial characters are suddenly made the stars of this play (but with no more information that was given in the original play).

3.Rain of Gold by Victor Villasenor

Because sometimes you just want a really sweet, easy read. That's not to say that there isn't bad or terrible things within the book. But it's doesn't inherently raise questions about the nature of humanity or free will. It's just impossible to put down.

(A play rather than a book). Shakespeare's Hamlet. So many of his phrases have been assimilated into everyday english, it's mind boggling. So many of his story plots have been adapted for audiences of every generation. The bloke was a total genius. =)

Speaker for the dead by orson scott card. I know card is quite a character in real life but his books are amazing. The struggles of surpassing regrets of childhood and becoming a man that not only others can respect but that you like yourself.

I hate how whenever Ender's Game comes up somebody eventually comes out to say that he's homophobic as if it alters how well the book is written.

We've all probably (if not certainly) read books that were written by racists, homophobes, or people who were/are otherwise bigoted - and while that may be a reason for you to not want to contribute to that person's income (you can buy used copies!), it annoys me that so many people will use it as a reason for why it's bad literature.

The entire Ender Universe is amazing. I love Ender's Shadow too, but personally I think the Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind branch is much more engrossing and meditative. It steers away from the personal struggles of the first book and examines larger issues of culture, society, and humanity in an honest, allegorical way. Every time I finish reading those books I feel... Enlightened? Humbled? I don't know, but it's an awesome feeling.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - simple read, inspiring, makes you want to do more with your life, the story itself is fun. If you've felt lost at any point in your life, you'll like this book.

Shantaram by Gregory David - long read, true story about an escaped convict from Australia. Story is set in Mumbai (Bombay at the time). It sets a great mood, paints a clear picture of Bombay, story is really interesting if you can move past the in length descriptions of locations. He joins the local mafia, it's a beautiful adventure, there's so much emotion in this book, And I absolutely loved the last sentence. I cried

Can't really explain it, it just feels familiar to me. It felt like if I was faced in that sort of situation, it would be how I would react. And, (not spoiling anything), my end would be similar to his even if the events never happened. In the end, just a lonely old man who will die alone and be forgotten.

Runners up would be Lolita, the Years of Rice and Salt, and All Quiet on the Western Front.

The Harper Hall of Pern Trilogy by Anne McCaffrey. I've read better books for sure, however you asked what my favorite book was, not what I think is the best book. This one just resonates with me because I read it when I was the same age as the main character, and it's always stuck with me. Definitely a good book for the 12-16 year old, and the 12-16 year old in all of us. It helps one to realized that we all have a special talent, but we sometimes have to work for it.

Oil! by Upton Sinclair
Ok, well my actual favorite, the hobbit, was taken but Oil is one of the least well known great books I've read in recent years. Upton Sinclair's best literary work falls to the wayside of his political monster "The Jungle" but it is a beautiful story with relatable characters that show how vicious economics and greed can destroy ordinary people. The writing is engaging and the story is fantastic. It will leave you thinking about its message for quite some time.

Malazan: Book of the Fallen. I guess it's technically ten books, but hey. The whole series then. The universe is just so immersive, and vivid, and the characters more real. It throws you in the deep end at the start, and at first I struggled to understand what was going on, but the way everything pulls together and seemingly minor events become major ones later on reminds me of Lock Stock or Snatch. The whole universe is just so incredibly well put together.

Sure the series can be tropey in places, but that's true of all fantasy. Best part of course is not having had to wait five years between books.